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Introduction

In 2016, the number of chronically undernourished people in the world is estimated to have increased to 815 million, up from 777 million in 2015, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition 2016–2025 call on all countries and stakeholders to work as one to eliminate hunger and malnutrition by 2030.

Agriculture remains predominantly traditional and majority of African countries exhibit a high dependency on food aid, which accounts for a quarter of all global food aid shipments. Reversing this trend requires strategic interventions that would dramatically raise agricultural productivity while taking into consideration realities and diversity of Africa’s farming systems.

Stark Reality of Hunger and Poverty Status

After a prolonged decline, global hunger increased in 2016 affecting 815 million people

In 2016, 155 million children were undernourished

Food security significantly declined in developing countries, particularly those in sub-Saharan Africa, South-Eastern Asia and Western Asia, where drought and flood are prevalent

Poverty causes more sickness, suffering and death than any other problem on earth

Which way out?

Agriculture accounts for 70% of fulltime employment, 33% of total GDP and 40% of total export earnings in Africa. Yet, productivity level of most crops fall below global averages.
• At the onset, African farmers face a multitude of highly complex and interrelated problems.
• No single approach will provide solutions to the declining agricultural productivity trends
• Conventional crop improvement ALONE will not cause a dramatic "quantum jump" to bridge the huge food deficit and poverty face of Africa.

The Case for Modern Agricultural Biotechnology

Biotechnology enables diverse applications in agriculture, health, industry and the environment. Overwhelming evidence demonstrates that biotechnological tools — tissue culture, genetic engineering and molecular breeding (marker-assisted selection) continue to provide promising opportunities for achieving greater food security while improving the quality of life. Biotechnology however is not a magical bullet. A high quality seed requires good agronomic practices, appropriate inputs and support services for the farmer to reap benefits. The comparative advantage of currently available biotech crops is the built-in defense against insects and tolerance to weed killers making them suitable for the average farmer. The technology is scale neutral and with proper stewardship, even the very small farmers benefit.

Global Status and Trends in Modern Biotechnology

Globally, in 2016, biotech crops occupied 185.1 million hectares, grown by 18 million farmers in 26 countries (19 developing and 7 developed countries). The global area under biotech crops has increased at 1.7 million hectares in 1996 to 185.1 million hectares in 2016 (a ~110-fold increase).

Other global milestones:

The net farm economic benefit in developing countries in 2015 was US$15.4 billion.

An 18.1% reduction in environmental impact of insecticides and herbicides has been recorded in 2015.

Four European countries – Spain, Portugal, Slovakia and Czech Republic continued to grow commercial biotech crops in 2016.

Experiences and Evidence from Africa

As of 2015, South Africa, Burkina Faso, and Sudan were the African countries with commercialized biotech crops.

Country

Biotech Crop Area (million hectares)

Commercialized Biotech Crops

South Africa

2.7

Maize, soybean, cotton

Sudan

0.1

cotton

Biotech cotton, maize, and soybean occupied 2.7 million hectares of land in South Africa in 2016, a 16% increase from the reported biotech crop area of 2.3 million hectares in 2015. Average biotech crop adoption increased marginally at 91% in 2016.

Sudan has been planting Bt cotton since 2012. Some 120,600 hectares of Bt cotton were planted in 2016, up from 120,000 hectares in 2015. This was a major breakthrough in the cotton industry of the country because cotton production has been declining in the past couple of years due to bollworm infestation.

Health Benefits of Biotech Crops

Besides reduction in pesticide residues, biotech crops have potential to increase the nutritional value of foods and enhance human health in various ways:

Lower levels of infestation by insects reduces fungal and mycotoxin in maize.

Nutritionally enhanced rice for beta carotene, would provide an alternative source of vitamin A to save millions of children who go blind every year.

Environmental Benefits of Biotech Crops

Global cumulative reduction in pesticides usage is estimated at 619 million kg of active ingredients for the period 1996-2015. This has contributed to reduction of pesticide residue in foods and minimized impact on non-target organisms.

Increased productivity per unit of land, minimizing encroachment into marginal lands, destruction of forests and pollution of freshwater resources.

Progress of Biotech Crop Research in Africa

In 2016, a total of 13 countries in Africa either planted, actively evaluated field trials or transitioned to grant approvals for the general release of various biotech crops. Biotech crops under experimental research or confined field trials in Kenya (maize and cotton), Malawi (cotton), Nigeria (cotton) were approved for environmental release. Multi-location field trials were conducted in Burkina Faso (cowpea), Ghana (cowpea), Ethiopia (cotton), Swaziland (cotton), Nigeria (cowpea and sorghum), and Uganda (banana and maize). Tanzania planted its first ever confined field trial of drought tolerant maize while Mozambique granted its first ever approval for a trial of a stacked trait, an insect resistant and drought tolerant maize.

Safety of Biotech Crops

With over a decade of production and consumption, biotech food and feed products depict a history of safe use with no credible evidence of risks to human health or the environment. This has been confirmed by a number of reputable independent scientific bodies such as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (U.S.), Research Directorate General of the European Union, the French Academies of Sciences and Medicine and the British Medical Association.

In May 2004, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN reported: “to date, no verifiable untoward toxic or nutritionally deleterious effects resulting from the consumption of foods derived from genetically modified foods have been discovered anywhere in the world.”

Moving into the Future

Responsible and safe deployment of modern biotechnology can significantly enhance prospects for alleviating poverty and hunger in Africa. To realize the technology’s potential however, African governments should create an enabling policy environment and conducive institutional arrangements for investment in R&D and commercialization of these products. Mechanisms to facilitate access to proprietary technologies and to invigorate the public sector towards development of products relevant to local conditions should be strengthened.

One of the major constraints to acceptance of modern biotechnology in Africa is misinformation. This continues to influence adoption and policy choices. Generation of accurate and science-based information is therefore crucial to informed decision-making, which would lead to greater appreciation of the contributions of biotechnology to food security and wealth creation.

References

FAO. 2017. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2017. http://www.fao.org/3/a-I7695e.pdf.